‘Trust Your Gut’ and Other Things Pros Learned on Recent Jobs
Five design professionals share lessons from projects that will help them with future clients
With all the time, money and effort involved, it’s no surprise that emotions often run high during renovation projects. But trusting your instincts and being confident can go a long way toward calming nerves and creating a smooth process. Those are just a couple of the big lessons these designers gleaned from recent projects. Read on to learn more.
2. Trust Your instincts
Designer: Tina McCabe of McCabe Design & Interiors
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 288 square feet (27 square meters); 16 by 18 feet
The project. Create a light and bright modern kitchen with transitional or classic style.
What I learned. “Sometimes, as a designer you have to just trust your gut and your vision without having done something before,” designer Tina McCabe says. “It’s not a risk but rather an experienced novel vision. I’ve specified tile in a herringbone pattern in smaller spaces but never a kitchen before.”
Designer: Tina McCabe of McCabe Design & Interiors
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 288 square feet (27 square meters); 16 by 18 feet
The project. Create a light and bright modern kitchen with transitional or classic style.
What I learned. “Sometimes, as a designer you have to just trust your gut and your vision without having done something before,” designer Tina McCabe says. “It’s not a risk but rather an experienced novel vision. I’ve specified tile in a herringbone pattern in smaller spaces but never a kitchen before.”
3. Collaborate Closely With Millworkers
Designer: Wanda Ely of Wanda Ely Architect
Location: Toronto
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters); 15 by 20 feet
The project. Architect Wanda Ely’s clients tasked her with designing an elegant, refined kitchen for entertaining friends and family for dinners, where guests can feel connected and involved in preparing the food.
What I learned. “In developing the integrated drawer pulls with the brass inlay, we learned to work closely with our millworkers and request mock-ups of custom details to be able to simulate and feel the effects of adjusting dimensions by minute amounts to achieve results that are both functional and in line with the design ambitions of a project,” Ely says.
Designer: Wanda Ely of Wanda Ely Architect
Location: Toronto
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters); 15 by 20 feet
The project. Architect Wanda Ely’s clients tasked her with designing an elegant, refined kitchen for entertaining friends and family for dinners, where guests can feel connected and involved in preparing the food.
What I learned. “In developing the integrated drawer pulls with the brass inlay, we learned to work closely with our millworkers and request mock-ups of custom details to be able to simulate and feel the effects of adjusting dimensions by minute amounts to achieve results that are both functional and in line with the design ambitions of a project,” Ely says.
4. Be Confident in Your Abilities
Designers: Emily Renze-Crouch of B St. Design and architect Reggie Reyes
Location: Rancho Bernardo, California
Size: 333 square feet (31 square meters)
The project. For this new build, the design team stuck to an overall concept of desert modern, using light-tone woods, gray concrete floors and pops of black.
What I learned. “Having clients that were so amazing and that really trusted both the architect and I to make smart decisions with their best interest at heart taught me that I work more efficiently this way,” designer Emily Renze-Crouch says. “I of course understand a client wanting to be very involved in the process, and often I love the collaborative effort with a client. But it is not always efficient and can often lead to project delays and added costs in design time and construction costs. This project added to my confidence and ability to tell a client, ‘Don’t worry. This is why you hired me. This is what you should do … ’ or, ‘Just let me do my job. I promise it will look fabulous.’ ”
Designers: Emily Renze-Crouch of B St. Design and architect Reggie Reyes
Location: Rancho Bernardo, California
Size: 333 square feet (31 square meters)
The project. For this new build, the design team stuck to an overall concept of desert modern, using light-tone woods, gray concrete floors and pops of black.
What I learned. “Having clients that were so amazing and that really trusted both the architect and I to make smart decisions with their best interest at heart taught me that I work more efficiently this way,” designer Emily Renze-Crouch says. “I of course understand a client wanting to be very involved in the process, and often I love the collaborative effort with a client. But it is not always efficient and can often lead to project delays and added costs in design time and construction costs. This project added to my confidence and ability to tell a client, ‘Don’t worry. This is why you hired me. This is what you should do … ’ or, ‘Just let me do my job. I promise it will look fabulous.’ ”
5. Communicate Important Details to Everyone Involved
Designer: Jan Hiltz Interiors
Location: Scarsdale, New York
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)
The project. For this new-build home for a black-and-white photographer, designer Jan Hiltz set out to create a warm kitchen with lots of texture.
What I learned. “As a seasoned designer knows, everything is in the planning,” Hiltz says. “It ensures a seamless installation. The custom staining of the floors added weeks that we did not anticipate to achieve the exact distressed color we were looking for. The floor being such an important architectural element, setting the stage so to speak, the builder did not understand why it was taking so long or its importance. I would say be very clear with the builder on how custom the project will be, as the lead times are very different from that of a spec house.”
More for Pros on Houzz
5 Things These Professionals Learned During Recent Projects
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Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Find out how to join the Trade Program
Designer: Jan Hiltz Interiors
Location: Scarsdale, New York
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)
The project. For this new-build home for a black-and-white photographer, designer Jan Hiltz set out to create a warm kitchen with lots of texture.
What I learned. “As a seasoned designer knows, everything is in the planning,” Hiltz says. “It ensures a seamless installation. The custom staining of the floors added weeks that we did not anticipate to achieve the exact distressed color we were looking for. The floor being such an important architectural element, setting the stage so to speak, the builder did not understand why it was taking so long or its importance. I would say be very clear with the builder on how custom the project will be, as the lead times are very different from that of a spec house.”
More for Pros on Houzz
5 Things These Professionals Learned During Recent Projects
Read more articles for home remodeling professionals
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Find out how to join the Trade Program
Designer: Gina Muzio of Dixon Projects (interior and architectural design)
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size: 38 square feet; (3.5 square meters); 5 feet by 7 feet, 8 inches
The project. Refresh the overall look of this bathroom with new materials and fixtures while keeping the existing layout and traditional feel.
What I learned. “Situated in an old building, the heating system in the home used steam piping,” designer Gina Muzio says. “Since the renovation was done in the summer, the team didn’t experience the altering effects of the steam pipes until winter. Once the heat turned on as the cold weather came, the pipes began to expand and contract near the surrounding detailed tilework laid down by the team.
“This movement caused the grout on the floor near the pipe and the sheet rock around the top of the pipe to begin to crack. To resolve this issue, the team special-ordered a cover plate to go over the tile as a layer of protection. Although this issue had to be amended after the fact, the team learned to better anticipate this seasonal challenge for future projects and foresee the unique quirks of buildings with older systems such as this.”